{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,20]],"date-time":"2026-04-20T04:44:52Z","timestamp":1776660292146,"version":"3.51.2"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,20]],"date-time":"2026-04-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776643200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Epididymitis is a common urogenital infection in adult men caused by sexually transmitted pathogens, urinary tract infections, trauma, or autoimmune mechanisms, with etiologies varying by age. In addition to severe pain and reduced quality of life, it may result in complications such as abscess formation, testicular atrophy, and infertility. Despite its clinical significance, comprehensive analyses of research trends remain limited. Bibliometric and knowledge-mapping approaches can provide quantitative insights into the field\u2019s development and hotspots.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Using the Web of Science Core Collection and the PubMed Database, we retrieved literature related to epididymitis published from January 1, 2014, to September 10, 2025. Bibliometric analyses of publication volume, journals, authors, institutions, countries, and keywords were conducted using the Bibliometrix R package (v5.1.1), VOSviewer (v1.6.20), and CiteSpace (v6.4. R2). Scientific knowledge maps were generated to identify research hotspots and developmental trends in epididymitis.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A total of 497 publications from 2,887 authors across 955 institutions in 67 countries were analyzed. Annual output remained stable at 30\u201350 articles since 2014. Andrologia was the most influential journal, and Pilatz Adrian was the leading author. China produced the most publications, the United States had the highest total citations, and Germany showed the highest average citation impact and strongest international collaboration. Justus Liebig University Giessen ranked first among institutions. Research trends have shifted from clinical diagnosis toward pathogenic and immunological mechanisms. Human studies focus on clinical features and treatment outcomes, whereas animal studies emphasize immunoinflammatory mechanisms and reproductive impacts.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Research on epididymitis is advancing from clinical observation toward molecular immunology and precision therapy. Future studies should further focus on sexually transmitted pathogens, the immunopathological mechanisms of epididymitis, and the relationship between chronic inflammation and male infertility.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2026.1748905","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,20]],"date-time":"2026-04-20T04:13:49Z","timestamp":1776658429000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Analysis of research hotspots and trends in epididymitis from 2014 to 2025: a visual analysis based on bibliometrics and scientific graphs from multiple databases"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"XiaoFang","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University (The First People's Hospital of Zunyi)","place":["Zunyi, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"ZhiPeng","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University (The First People's Hospital of Zunyi)","place":["Zunyi, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jing","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University (The First People's Hospital of Zunyi)","place":["Zunyi, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kaihua","family":"Tang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University (The First People's Hospital of Zunyi)","place":["Zunyi, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"XiJian","family":"Luo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University (The First People's Hospital of Zunyi)","place":["Zunyi, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"DeCan","family":"Liang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University (The First People's Hospital of Zunyi)","place":["Zunyi, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"AnGuo","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University (The First People's Hospital of Zunyi)","place":["Zunyi, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"YongHua","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University (The First People's Hospital of Zunyi)","place":["Zunyi, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"YiChi","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University (The First People's Hospital of Zunyi)","place":["Zunyi, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jie","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University (The First People's Hospital of Zunyi)","place":["Zunyi, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"ZhongHong","family":"Yuan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University (The First People's Hospital of Zunyi)","place":["Zunyi, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"ZhouNuo","family":"Tan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University (The First People's Hospital of Zunyi)","place":["Zunyi, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"ZhiBo","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University (The First People's Hospital of Zunyi)","place":["Zunyi, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jie","family":"Xie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University (The First People's Hospital of Zunyi)","place":["Zunyi, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lei","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University (The First People's Hospital of Zunyi)","place":["Zunyi, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Meng","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University (The First People's Hospital of Zunyi)","place":["Zunyi, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Wen","family":"Luo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University (The First People's Hospital of Zunyi)","place":["Zunyi, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"S770","DOI":"10.1093\/cid\/civ812","article-title":"Epididymitis","volume":"61","author":"Taylor","year":"2015","journal-title":"Clin Infect Dis"},{"key":"ref2","first-page":"583","article-title":"Epididymitis and orchitis: an 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fibrotic disease in uropathogenic E. coli-induced epididymo-orchitis","volume":"135","author":"Wang","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Clin Invest"},{"key":"ref27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"499","DOI":"10.5694\/mja2.51749","article-title":"Chlamydia prevention and management in Australia: reducing the burden of disease","volume":"217","author":"Munari","year":"2022","journal-title":"Med J Aust"},{"key":"ref28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/jdv.20865","article-title":"The 2024 european guideline on the management of epididymo-orchitis","volume":"40","author":"Justice","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol"},{"key":"ref29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"428","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eururo.2014.12.005","article-title":"Acute epididymitis revisited: impact of molecular diagnostics on etiology and contemporary guideline recommendations","volume":"68","author":"Pilatz","year":"2015","journal-title":"Eur 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study","volume":"17","author":"Mondal","year":"2025","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"ref33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1557988320970053","DOI":"10.1177\/1557988320970053","article-title":"Reactive oxygen species secreted by leukocytes in semen induce self-expression of interleukin-6 and affect sperm quality","volume":"14","author":"Li","year":"2020","journal-title":"Am J Mens Health"},{"key":"ref34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1609","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fertnstert.2014.03.011","article-title":"Acute epididymitis induces alterations in sperm protein composition","volume":"101","author":"Pilatz","year":"2014","journal-title":"Fertil Steril"},{"key":"ref35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"309","DOI":"10.37349\/ei.2021.00021","article-title":"Immunoregulation in the testis and its implication in fertility and infections","volume":"1","author":"Khambata","year":"2021","journal-title":"Explor 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